Georgia Southern professor earns 2026 History Author of the Year Award from Georgia Writers Association

Bennett Parten, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at Georgia Southern University, has been awarded the 2026 History Author of the Year Award from the Georgia Writers Association (GWA) for his work, “Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman’s March and the History of Emancipation.”

GWA’s Georgia Author of the Year Awards is an annual recognition celebrating authors statewide for their contributions to literature. For Parten, recognition from an organization dedicated to highlighting Georgia’s most influential authors is a meaningful recognition of his work.

“It’s a great honor. There were lots of exceptional books published – and it’s an honor to be mentioned among them,” Parten said.

Parten’s book is a deep dive into the rarely acknowledged perspective of thousands of enslaved people who experienced Sherman’s March to the Sea as a journey to freedom. With few accounts of the emancipation of formerly enslaved people recorded, Parten relied on creative research methods to uncover volumes of documentation to build the foundation of his work.

Many accounts of Sherman’s March to the Sea military campaign stem from the bureaucratic perspective of Union soldiers and personnel. However, Parten sought to shift the narrative, focusing heavily on creating a thought-provoking look at formerly enslaved people experiencing the march firsthand.

“I hope it is written in a way that is accessible and appealing to readers, but more than anything, I hope it is a topic that pulls them in and perhaps forces them to think differently about a well-known historical topic,” Parten explained.

When it comes to Georgia’s history, the march represents a quintessential turning point in the Civil War, setting the foundation for the state’s modern framework. As a historian, Parten says that understanding Sherman’s March to the Sea is critical for comprehending the modern state of Georgia.

“I think it is essential to hear the story of all people involved in emancipation,” Parten said. “I think this is unquestionably Georgia’s most important historical moment and the crucible that made the state what it is today in so many ways.”